Grain cleaning and separating machine



Sept. 18, 1934. l... JONES GRAIN CLEANING AND SEPARATI NG MACHINE Filed Feb. 15, 1952 2 S1eets-Sheet lqveqtor halogen Sept. 18, 1934.

L. JONES GRAIN CLEANING AND SEPARATING MACHINE 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 15

Patented Sept. 18, 1934 NE W TATES GRAIN CLEANING AND SEPARATING MACHINE Leonard Jones, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Application February 15, 1932, Serial No. 593,085

2 Claims. I (Cl. 209-12) The invention relates to improvements in grain cleaning and separating machines and an object of the invention is to provide a machine which can be manufactured at'relatively small cost and which will effectively clean the grain passed able nap and which can be adjusted to any de- I sired angular position and to associate with the belt an air blast which can be controlled in its direction and which acts to positively insure that the lighter free sliding grains will be discharged from the'upper end of the belt. 7

A further object is to construct the machine so that the various air blasts can be readily controlled to insure of the most efiicient operation of the machine.

A further object is to provide a novel agitator associated with the grain hopper and also reciprocated brushes associated with certain screens and acting to prevent clogging of such screens.

A further object is to provide the machine with a reciprocated shoe having upper and lower decks and withthe top deck receiving grain discharged from the endless conveyor and delivering the grain in a falling stream onto the lower deck and to embody also as part of the machine structure a fan having an air trunk leading between the decks and directing a strong blast of air through the stream of grain falling from the top deck to the under deck.

With the above more important and other minor objects in view which will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the'invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of the parts hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a side view of the machine. 7

Fig. 2 a viewer the opposite side of the machine to that shown in Figure 1. ig. 3 is a front end view. I Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view at 4-4 Figure '3.

I Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view at 5-5 Figure 4.

Fig.

ure 4. M

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing details of the brush.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view at 8-8 Figure 1. In the drawings like characters of reference in dicate corresponding parts in the several figures. The main frame of the machine is of the well known construction embodying corner legs 1 con-, nected by suitably'spaced connecting bars 2 and braced by angularly disposed bracej bars 3 at opposite sides. The upper part of the frame at the 6 is a vertical sectional view at 6-6 Figforward end is provided with a grain receiving hopper 4, the details of which will be later explained and rearwardly of the hopper, the frame carries a fan or blower casing 5 containing a multi-bladed rotating fan or blower 6 which is mounted on the fan shaft 7, the shaft being carried'in suitable bearings carried by the opposite sides of the main frame. Draught controlling gates 8 of well known design are provided on the ends of the fan casing for controlling the amount of exterior air permitted to enter the casing.

The hopper embodies opposing end boards 9 carried by the main frame and front and rear. downwardly converging boards 10 and 11 there between whichboards feed towards the outlet from the hopper in the usual manner.

The fan casing is provided with a forwardly extending air trunk generally indicated by the reference numeral 12 which underlies the hopper and comprises two similar opposing side boards 13 and 14 extending fromthe fan casing, a bottom closure plate 15 extending between the boards and'a top closure plate 16 extending between the boards, the top closure plate having an inclined upwardly extending wing 17 which forms a continuation of the lower edge of .the hopper board 11 so that grain discharges through the outlet 4 of the hopper directly into the forepart of the air trunk 12. I f

Between the forward ends of the side boards of. the air trunk, I locate an inclined cross board 18 and from the lower edge of this board a downwardly and rearwardly inclining cross plate 19 leads between the side boards .to a point approximately midway of the length of the trunk. A horizontal lying divisional board 20, extends be tween the rear ends of the side boards andhas its front end spaced from the rear end of the plate 19 to provide a grain escape passage'Zl, it being here observed that the grain discharging directed towards the outlet.

from the hopper will be directed into the forward part of the trunk in a falling stream and will then slide down the plate 19 and escape through the passage 21 where it is caught by an endless apron or conveyor later described. Directly above the cross board is an adjustable wing or Valve 22 which can be set in any desired position by manipulating an operating lever 23 located at the outer side of the machine.

It will be here observed that the board 20 divides the rear part of the trunk into upper and lower air passages and that the valve 22 is located in the upper passage.

The air flowing in the upper passage is directed forwardly through the stream of grain falling from the hopper and carries dust, dirt and like particles of foreign material with it, thereby effecting an initial cleaning of the grain. The air flowing through the lower passage is directed to wards the upper end of the apron or endlessconveyor already mentioned and later described. a

A deflector plate 24 is secured to the forward edge of the divisional board and curves upwardly so that the blast through the upper part of the trunk is concentrated on the stream of grain in a location close to the outlet 4. A feed controllinggate 25 is pivotally attached to the lower edge of the board 10 by a pair of parallel links 26 and 27, the link 27 being extended to provide a hand lever 28. Friction of the parts is relied upon to hold this gate in any adjusted position and it willbe apparent that by manipulating the handle, one can increase or diminish the extent of the feed opening 4' from the hopper.

In order to insure of an even and positive feed from the hopper, I have mounted an agitator in the hopper adjacent the outlet, the agitator comprising a cross bar 29 having the ends thereof slidably mounted in the ends of the hopper and the body part thereof fitted with spaced teeth 30 boards are adjustably supported by similar adjusting bars 34 pivotally attached to the sides of the boards and having their upper ends longitudinally slotted as indicated at 35, theslots receiving bolts 36 carried by the ends of the hopper andfitted with adjusting nuts 3'7 in the Well known manner.

Obviously the inclination or angular position of the endless conveyor can be adjusted as desired to insure effective operation.

The upper ends of the side boards carry a cross shaft 38 which is mounted in any well known manner for adjustment towards or away from the shaft 33 and the shafts 33 and 38 carry similar rollers 39 which are connected by an end less belt 40 having considerable nap. The belt can be brought to the proper tension by adjusting the upper shaft. A scraper .41 underlies the upper end'of the belt and has the ends thereof pivotally carried by the side boards 32 so that the scraper can rock to accommodate the belt. A

. discharge chute 42 is secured permanently to the side'boards 32 and is adapted to receive and discharge from the machine the material discharged from the upper end of the belt.

'At the rear edge of the plate 19, I locate a pivoted air deflector 43 which is arranged so that Means later de-;

it can be adjusted to any desired position by manipulating an exterior handle 44. This air deflector controls the point at which the air blast through the lower part of the trunk strikes the upper end of the endless belt and is utilized for a very important purpose later explained.

In the lower part of the machine frame, I mount a reciprocated shoe which embodies an upper deck 45 and a lower deck 46. The frame of the lower deck is supported forwardly by spring bars 47 extending upwardly from one of the bars 2 of the main frame and rearwardly by spring bars 48 attached to the rear corner legs and to the sides of saiddeck. The bottom deck carries the top deck, suitably disposed side bars 49 being utilized for this purpose. The top deck is designed to receive material discharging from the .lower end of the endless belt and pass the same forwardly of the machine while the bottom deck is designed to receive material from the top deck and discharge the same rearwardly.

The top deckembodies a rear vertically dis the screens and prevent the same from becomingclogged when the machine is in operation. The

brushes are all similar and are carried by opj posing similar side bars 5'7 slidably carried by the sides of the frame of the under deck and provision is made for simultaneously reciprocating the side bars 57.

The main drive shaft 58 of the machine, which is suitably carried in bearings provided on the mainframe, is provided with a driving p lley 59 and with similar eccentrics 60 which operate in the rear ends of pitmans 61 associated with the bottom deck, the arrangement being such that when the main shaft is driven by a belt 62 from an associated electric motor 63, the bottom deck and the top deck are both simultaneously reciprocated.

To the rear of the top deck, I locate a second fan casing 64 containing a multi-bladed fan 65 carried by the fan shaft 66 which latter is suitably mounted in side bearings carried by the machine frame. An air trunk 67 leads forwardly from the fan casing 64 in a location between the decks of the shoe and has the forward end contracted as indicated at 68'and positioned to direct a blast of air through the stream of grain discharging from the upper deck through the outlet 54 and dropping down onto the forward end of the screen 55' of the lower deck. An adjustable deflector plate 69 is provided directly opposite the outlet 68 so that one can control the direction of the blast passing through the stream of grain to best advantage. 7 H

The drive shaft 58 is provided at its opposite ends with similar pulleys 70, one of which through the crossed belt 71 drives a pulley 72 on the fan shaft 7 and the other of which through a belt 73 drives a pulley '74 on the conveyor shaft 33. The shaft 7 carries a further pulley 75 which is connected by a belt 76 to a-pulley 77 secured tothe fan shaft 66 and the shaft 33 is fitted with a chain wheel '78 which drives through an endless chain 79 a further chain wheel 80 mounted on a stub shaft 81 carried by one of the bars 2 of the machine frame.

To the chain wheel 80, I connect pivotally a pitman 82 which operates a crank 83 secured to a cross shaft 84 rotatably carried by the front legs 1. The shaft 84 is provided with a pair of levers 85 which are connected to the side bars 57 by connecting bars 86, the arrangement being such that when the chain wheel 80 rotates, the brushes are reciprocated and sweep the screens. A bell crank 87 is pivotally attached to the side of the machine frame and has one end longitudinally slotted and receiving slidably a pin 88 extending from the adjacent end of the bar 29. An operating bar 89 connects the bell crank to an eccentric pin 90 carried by the chain wheel 78 and obviously according to this arrangement, when the machine is operating, the bar 29 will be reciprocated Within the hopper.

The above completes the description of the operating parts and it will be seen that when the motor is driven, the shoe is agitated, the fans are rotated, the brushes are reciprocated, the agitator is operated and the endless belt is driven in the direction indicated by the applied arrow Figure 4.

This machine is specially valuable for removing such grain seeds as wild oats or tame oats from other grains, it being known that wild oats have a considerable beard so that they have a natural tendency to cling to a nap surface.

Assuming that the machine is in operation and that the mixed grains including wild oats are placed in the hopper, the action of the machine is as follows.

The grain in the hopper will be agitated adjacent the feed opening by the agitator and will be fed evenly and effectively through the discharge outlet therefrom depending on the amount that the gate 25 is opened. The grain falling from the hopper is initially cleaned of the lighter foreign material, such as dust, chafi and light weed and grain seeds, by the blast of air passing through the upper part of the air trunk 12 and crossing such stream, the light foreign material being blown out through the front end of the machine over the top of the board 18. In this connection, it will be remembered that one can adjust the valve 22 and the gates 8 in order to obtain the best regulation of air as experience will dictate.

The grain, after this initial cleaning, is caught by the plate 19 and directed to the outlet 21 where it again falls in a stream onto the lower end of the top side of the endless belt or carpet 40. Here a further separation is effected, the heavier and smooth grains sliding down over the belt and discharging onto the plate 52 while the lighter and bearded grains are carried up by the top side of the belt.

I wish it here to be particularly noted that the air blast in the lower part of the trunk 12 is directed through the grain stream and against the upper part of the endless belt, provision being made so that the direction of the blast in regard to the belt can be controlled by manipulating the air deflector 43. By properly directing this blast against the belt and through the stream, I find that the lighter grains including both wild and tame oats are carried out of the stream and blown forcibly against the upper end of the belt where they are held by the blast against rolling or sliding down and are consequently positively discharged by the belt over the upper end thereof and expelled by the board 42, it being noted that the scraper clears off anything adhering.

The heavier grains falling on the lower end of the belt are separated, those not being caught in the nap sliding down and off the lower end of the belt onto the plate 52 and those caught in the nap and including wild oats and small seeds, being carried up by the belt and being delivered onto the board 42. The material caught by the plate 52 is fed forwardly onto the screen 53 which separates the heavy foreign material from the heavier grains, the foreign material travelling over the screen and being discharged at the front end of the machine and the grains going through the screen and being directed to the outlet 54 by the pan 51.

At this point, the grain falls in a further stream onto the upper end of the seed screen 55' and in falling is subjected to a further strong blast from the fan 65 which carries out any remaining lighter material. A final separation of the grains is made by the bottom deck, the small cracked wheat and weed seeds going through the forward screen 55 and any remaining small grain kernels going through the rear screen 55 and the effectively cleaned wheat being discharged from the rear end of the screen 55.

It will be particularly noted that with the construction provided, I am able to maintain an air pressure distributed over a desired area of the belt and which is used to great advantage in insuring of delivery over the upper end of the belt of certain grain. While I have shown only one deflector operating in the blast, it will of course be understood that several deflector plates could be used in a larger blast to obtain the desired air pressure over a larger area of the belt.

What I claim as my invention is:-

1. In a grain cleaning and separating machine, in combination, an elevated grain receiving hopper having an adjustable outlet, an inclined driven endless belt underlying the hopper, said belt presenting considerable nap, means interposed between the hopper and the belt for 20 catching the initial stream of grain discharging from the hopper and subsequently discharging it in a second falling stream directed towards the lower end of the belt, a blower, means for directing an initial cleaning blast of air from the blower through the first stream of grain and leading the blast from the machine clear of the belt and means for directing a second blast of air from the blower through the second stream of grain and towards the upper end of the belt.

2. In a grain cleaning and separating machine, in combination, an elevated grain receiving hopper provided with an adjustable outlet, an inolined endless driven belt underlying the hopper, said belt presenting considerable nap, a blower, an air trunk communicating with the blower and interposed between the hopper and the belt, said trunk being internally transversely divided to provide upper and lower blast passages and having the upper passage receiving in a falling stream the grain discharging from the hopper and discharging that grain to fall across the second passage in a stream onto the lower end of the belt and an adjustable valve for controlling the blast in the upper passage. 3

LEONARD JONES. 

